Cell phones. Computers. Monitors. Tablets. iPads. TVs. These are wonderful inventions used in businesses and personal use all over the world. When they break or become outdated, people need to discard them but can’t just throw them in the garbage. It isn’t safe for the environment.

In an effort to assist the residents of Houston, Mayor Annise Parker announced a partnership between the City of Houston, Amazing Spaces Self Storage, CompuCycle, and GREENspot DROPoff. This partnership will provide residents with a free and comprehensive electronics waste program that will effectively handle discarded electronic items. [More]

When it comes to being environmentally friendly the concept of recycling and ‘going green’ has become quite popular in the self storage industry. Many facilities across the country have gotten involved in various recycling efforts helping the world become a better place by taking something old and turning it back into something usable again. [More]

An educator once said that every person should use what Mother Nature gave them before Father Time takes it away. When it comes to personal attributes the culprit would be Father Time (along with one’s own destructive behavior). The person is not all Mother Nature provided to us; there is the planet that we live on as well. [More]

SD Storage of San Diego announced today that it is joining a host of other California self storage companies in offering e-waste collection to its tenants. SD Storage will offer e-waste collection at six locations: Escondido, National City, North San Marcos, Pacific Beach, South San Marcos, and Vista. [More]

Got an old sweater that is too stretched out to wear? Make it into a sofa pillow, or use the arms to make child-size leggings, and the body to make a child-size winter skirt. Several old Gore-Tex jackets? Sew them together to make a beautiful and mold-resistant shower curtain. How about some plain white china plates? Paint or draw on them and sell the resulting work at a craft fair.

While many people are focused on finding ways to reuse or recycle things they can no longer use, others are finding creative ways to reuse stuff (clothing, dishes, you name it) by making something new out of something old -- turning storage problems into craft projects. While the practice is really just a new way to reuse or recycle things, it has generated its own word: upcycling. If your closets, kitchen cupboards, garage, basement, attic, or self storage unit is crammed to the gills or overstuffed with...stuff, then upcycling is the new green alternative to throwing things out. [More]

It’s that time of the year -- the time when college students (finally!) vacate their parents’ homes and go back to school, schlepping a mountain of gear along with them. What are college students taking with them to campus this year, and where will they store it? Journalists around the country have been interviewing college-bound students to find out their back to school storage solutions. [More]

These days, many people are downsizing their homes to reduce expenses. A small house or home may not only cost less in terms of rent or a mortgage payment, but also costs less to heat and cool, and uses less electricity. The first part of downsizing is decluttering -- giving away, reusing, recycling, or throwing out whatever an individual or a family can live without. Part of the decluttering process, for many people, is storing items that are not needed year round in a self storage unit. The second part is making a small house plan: exactly how much space do you truly need to live in? Some people even draw up their own small house plans. For many, the downsizing process, especially when it is supported by good storage options, leads straight to tiny houses and the tiny house movement -- a movement for people who are determined to live in the smallest possible space. [More]

Cardiff Self Storage, a storage facility located in the United Kingdom, has decided to participate in a campaign to encourage local college students to recycle unwanted items. The recycling campaign, called Get It Out for Cardiff, will donate clothing to the Salvation Army, and nonperishable food items to FareShare. The campaign will also benefit the British Heart Foundation and Raise and Give. So far the campaign has been a phenomenal success, raising several tons of materials to donate to local charities. [More]

The National Organization of Professional Organizers has decided to grant its 2010 Organizing Excellence Award to the Waste Not Center of Columbus, Ohio. The award will be presented by Sheila Delson, NAPO’s Awards Committee Chair, at NAPO’s 22nd Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition. The Conference will be held in Columbus from April 21 to 24.

The Waste Not Center is a center dedicated to storing, organizing, and recycling supplies that would otherwise be thrown away. It receives donations of art and office supplies from businesses and individuals, organizes them with its other donations, and stores them. The donations accepted by the Waste Not Center include paper, pads, notebooks, paint, brushes, glue, fabric, pens, markers, foam core, vases, silk flowers, books, videos, folders, envelopes, pencils, and containers. It makes these materials available to artists, teachers, and community organizations for no cost other than a small annual membership fee. On an average day, the Waste Not Center provides about 1500 pounds of material and supplies to between 30 and 40 clients. If its members were to buy the same supplies and materials commercially, they would, collectively, spend an estimated $4,500 each week, or about $250,000 each year. In many cases, therefore, the Waste Not Center gives its members supplies that they could not otherwise afford. [More]